BENGALURU: A few days ago, the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) entered an agreement with Facebook. As per the alliance, social media users can now choose music from the IPRS repertoire for stories, stickers, and more. This feels like a good thing because it allows creators to benefit from the use of their music. Also very recently, the IPRS also announced that it will charge musicians live streaming their performances a Rs 20,000 fee. The amount applies even if artistes are sharing their own music and there is no incoming revenue from the stream. If there are sponsors involved, the fee rises to Rs 60,000. And if the stream is longer than two hours, it’s Rs 1,00,000.
Sadly, this is part of a pattern that leaves artistes unfairly treated in the larger scheme of things. We know that when we watch an ad before a film song, a certain amount goes to the platform. What we don’t know is that a large percentage of the revenue goes to labels and producers, and none of it to the singer. When a song becomes a mega hit for years and even decades, all money from sales and streaming goes to producers and labels, with the composers sometimes getting something. Artistes get nothing beyond the initial fee they get at the time of recording the song.
The latest notice is especially upsetting because of the circumstances musicians are in. Artistes have been struggling with a lack of income, since in-person live events are cancelled for the foreseeable future. Live-streaming on digital platforms is the only option for them to lean on, and the fees imposed could potentially work only for artistes with a large following or sponsorships. To simply broadcast their own work on their social media pages, artistes could face significant consequences. And thanks to organisations like the Indian Singers’ Rights Association, we have been able to understand a little more about the unfair exploitation at play here.
We have all spent the better part of 2020 turning to music for comfort. Weekend live streams and social media concerts have played a huge role in getting us through uncertainty, fear, and emotional exhaustion. It’s only fair that we take a moment and make sure that our artistes get the treatment they deserve, too.
(The author is a singer, songwriter, educator and social entrepreneur)